Product Manager - Digital and Data Strategy

Remuneration:	R50000 - R60000 per month negotiable
Benefits:	22 days leave, R600 WiFi reimbursement, R900 therapy stipend, currently trialing a 4 day work week (Fridays off), 1 x menstrual leave day a month.
Location:	Remote
Remote work:	Only remote work
Education level:	Degree
Job level:	Mid/Senior
Type:	1 year
Reference:	#OCLDataPM
Company:	Open Cities Lab

Are you passionate about being part of a dynamic team dedicated to transforming urban environments through data and technology? Do you thrive in a collaborative setting where innovation and excellence drive impactful change in city living? If so, this is the opportunity you've been waiting for! Join us in our mission to enhance urban governance and create more resilient, inclusive, and vibrant cities. We are looking for a product manager whose primary responsibility will be to manage our digital and data strategy developments and implementations.

The ideal candidate will have both a strong technical background and experience of the public sector.

• An example of our data-sharing product is The Durban EDGE Open Data Portal: https://edge.durban/ 
• An example of one of our data governance grants: http://bit.ly/4eRz8Nk 
• Our digital and data governance strategy product mostly comprises toolkits and requires intensive advisory services.

As the digital and data strategy product manager at OCL, you are the de facto expert on the digital and data strategy offerings in our portfolio. This may mean managing the release of a specific product and/ or facilitating the implementation of your designated products in use-case environments. To accomplish this, you’ll work closely with the Chief Product, Strategy and Operations Officers, the Technical Team and Partners. You'll be responsible for coordinating all the activities required to bring a new product to market and for ensuring that use-case product implementations meet contractual requirements and achieve maximum impact. You’ll oversee negotiations, timelines and budgets to optimise cost-effective delivery and implementation of solutions and also provide support to Partnership Leads and the Advocacy Team who promote your designated products and secure use-case opportunities. You will contribute to building the aspirational OCL culture and will continually develop your own professional competence. We reserve the right to redeploy the successful candidate into any other role, as required.

Responsibilities:

• Managing OCL’s data and digital governance products and advisory services.
• End-to-end management of product release and implementation processes.
• Developing detailed product scopes.
• Managing product enhancements.
• Developing and managing product roadmaps, timelines and budgets.
• Market and competitor analysis and user research to inform the development of new product releases.
• Ensuring comprehensive data governance, compliance and security.
• Thought leadership and competency-building around emerging digital and data needs and opportunities in the cities environment, Acting as the primary liaison between partners and internal teams.
• Understanding the use-case environment and optimising partner satisfaction.
• Monitoring and continually improving the performance and impact of digital and data strategy products.
• Providing performance data for reporting.
• Fulfilling this role according to OCL’s aspirational culture, leadership brand and work ethos.
• Growing professionally and developing personal competence to fulfil this role in a rapidly scaling and increasingly impactful organisation.

Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree in governance, public policy or urban planning or related field OR equivalent experience.
• Relevant additional qualifications in Computer Science, Data Science, Information Technology, or a related field or equivalent experience.
• Relevant certifications such as Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP), or similar are advantageous.

Skills and technical expertise:

• Ability to translate use case strategic requirements into technical specifications and actionable digital and data strategies.
• Ability to evaluate data and digital organisational readiness and maturity, and to guide technical teams to close any gaps.
• Facilitation and leadership.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills at all levels.
• Organisation, time and project management.
• Budgeting.
• Strong business acumen - and knowledge of civic environment.
• Knowledge of NPO environment.
• Ability to analyse complex data sets and derive actionable insights for clients.
• Excellent project management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple use cases simultaneously.
• Product management tools and methodologies.
• Strong understanding of digital and data architecture, data modeling, and ETL processes.
• Knowledge of data governance frameworks and compliance standards.

Experience:

• Five years experience in delivering digital products and advisory services, with at least 3 years focused on digital and data strategy.
• Proven experience of successfully launching and managing digital and data strategies in multiple use case environments.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams.
• Experience within public sector or with public sector clients is advantageous.
• Above all else we are looking for a cities digital expert.

Culture and values:

• Personal values aligned with OCL's aspirational culture.
• High ethical standards, integrity, and a strong desire for continuous learning and growth.
• Commitment to ongoing performance improvement and coaching programmes.

The salary for this position will be determined based on the candidate's experience and qualifications, as well as our internal guidelines. This is a full-time, 1-year contract with an option to renew based on performance and funding. Looking to be placed 1 September 2024.

Company Description

We believe that through empowering citizens, building trust and accountability in civic space, and building capacity with government, we will enable participation in decision-making, evidence-based urban intervention, and inclusive co-design that will improve the lives of residents in urban spaces.

Our organisation is made up of Researchers, Software Developers, Economists, Data Scientists, Designers and Product Owners who get to constantly expand their knowledge and learn peripheral skills as part of the job. We are all driven by a common purpose as a non-partisan community founded on the belief of equality and inclusion through openness across all aspects of society.

We are growing! And we need help expanding our capacity...

Join us at Open Cities Lab and be part of a dynamic team dedicated to shaping the future of urban living through technology and design. Apply now to contribute your expertise and creativity to our impactful projects.

All applicants who are drawn to serve the mission of Open Cities Lab will enjoy Equality of Opportunity and fair treatment without regard to:
? Race
? Colour
? Age
? Religion
? Pregnancy
? Sex
? Sexual orientation
? Disability
? Gender identity
? Gender expression
? National origin
? Genetic information
? Marital status
? Prior protected activity

Women, Nonbinary, BIPOC, and people with disabilities are strongly
encouraged to apply.

Posted on 09 Jul 11:19, Closing date 31 Aug